Home Office with Employees

Does it work?

[woop01]

Does anybody here have experience with employees and home based businesses?
We’re getting to the point where we can justify hiring one or two interns from a local university to help out with website development, administrative tasks, and most importantly customer service. However, as of right now, I can’t justify going to a full office away from home (considering we bought this house last October because of the ‘work at home’ aspects of it) and quite frankly, I DON’T WANT to get an office.

I know I’m already in violation of my HOA restrictions regarding home based businesses, I don’t really care, I’m also on the HOA board of directors to make sure that’s not a problem. We’re out of the city limits and this area isn’t zoned so the city won’t get on me.

Am I completely insane for wanting to allow employees into my home?

[txbakers]

As long as you are with them it shouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't leave them unattended.

And it's very awkward when you have to go put the laundry in during the work day.

Have you looked into telecommuting? Can they work from their homes on your network?

Also, you'd have restroom issues and other workplace related (think OSHA) issues. If someone gets hurt.....they can own your house.

[Lord Majestic]

In the UK every employer will have to have valid employee insurance just in case they get hurt. Don't think insurance will be issued (or be valid) in a residential property.

AFAIK in the UK (and I don't know if you from there but I guess rules are pretty logical to make sense elsewhere) you can work from home without classifying it as business property (and paying rates, having issues with morgage etc) so long as you don't get business visitors and employees, ie the purpose of the house is still the house - if you work from your bedroom on a computer then (IANAL!) its fair play. Or so I hope :-/

As for hiring others I think for a set of tasks with clear deliverables its okay to let people work from home, naturally its best to pay on results rather than time involved!